Last year, a report revealed youth in some North Carolina juvenile justice facilities were being locked in small rooms, sometimes for days or weeks on end.
One month later, two Charlotte-based attorneys filed a federal lawsuit requesting a judge order the state of North Carolina to end the practice of holding minors in solitary confinement. Youth reported black maggots in the toilets in their cells, according to the lawsuit, and they aren’t allowed outside unless they are going to court.
The Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention said severe staffing shortages were one reason for imposing administrative confinements, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
A new filing seeks class-action status for the federal lawsuit filed in January. If granted, it could expand the case from the three teens who filed the original suit to include thousands more.
We speak with a reporter following this story, as well as two experts who have researched and written about the far-reaching impacts of solitary confinement.
GUESTS:
Jean Casella, director of Solitary Watch, a nonprofit watchdog group
Rachel Crumpler, reporter for North Carolina Health News via Report for America
Craig Haney, professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz
